UK government tried 3D-printing guns to assess threat

It pays to know your enemy. The UK government has 3D-printed at least one gun to try to understand how much of a threat the technology presents, New Scientist has learned.

The task fell to researchers at the Home Office's Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), which advises the government on scientific issues related to crime prevention.

At a meeting of the Home Office Science Advisory Council (HOSAC) in July last year, CAST researcher Richard Lacey explained how investigations into 3D-printed guns form part of the organisation's "horizon scanning" efforts to monitor new technology.

CAST used a 3D printer to make a gun based on plans downloaded from the internet, but it failed to fire. CAST is also investigating 3D-printing of handcuff keys, unmanned aerial vehicles, batteries, electronics and even body parts, Lacey told HOSAC.

"Our Centre for Applied Science and Technology uses 3D printers, software and a 3D scanner to update and enhance its design engineering capability, which is central to the work it undertakes," a Home Office spokesperson told New Scientist. "The equipment is used in a range of CAST projects including trials and testing."

All-plastic Liberator

The Home Office would not confirm whether the plans were those produced by Defense Distributed, a US group that last year released 3D printer blueprints for an all-plastic weapon called the Liberator. After numerous downloads in the UK, the Home Office issued new guidelines on firearms licensing in November, explicitly prohibiting the manufacture, purchase, sale and possession of 3D-printed guns without the authority of the Home Secretary, under the Firearms Act 1968. The document states that "3D-printed weapons are potentially lethal barrelled weapons and must be viewed as such in law. The method of manufacture is not material to this consideration".

There is no evidence that criminals in the UK have attempted to 3D-print guns. Last year police claimed to have discovered components of a printed gun during a raid in Manchester, but it later transpired these were replacement parts for a 3D printer.

3D-printed guns are not much of a concern, but it is good the government is investigating them, says Peter Squires a criminologist at the University of Brighton, UK. "There were about 100,000 downloads of the software from the web, and I think it is more the evasion of border controls, the fact that a weapon can travel through fibre-optic cables," he says. "They want to make it absolutely clear the status of the item in question is illegal."

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The Liberator: 3D-printed but just as lethal (Image: Robert MacPherson/AFP/Getty Images)